


Changes are Irony

by neofrack



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2019-07-04 04:29:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15833778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neofrack/pseuds/neofrack
Summary: Nick Wilde is a veteran detective partnered with an ambitious rabbit, Judy Hopps. They dont get along so well because Nick doesn't like to have a partner, while Judy is constanly trying to prove herself. When Nick past has come back to haunt him, watch these duo survive it while they change each other.





	1. The First meeting

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my first language, so pardon me for all the grammar mistake.
> 
> Feel free to review, dont forget Nice comment are always apreciated :)
> 
> Disclaimer : I do not own zootopia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to @SaberGatomon for becoming my proof reader, here's the revision of the story which have been corrected by him

  

                                                                                  

 

 

* * *

 

 Things could be going better for the fox, crouching behind a couch. A deer, holding a gun, shoots the couch a couple times. The only thing that keeping the fox alive is that couch. The fox wondered why this has became a dangerous situation. All he did was investigate a kidnapping case, track down the house of the kidnapper, and check it for evidence when there's nobody home. Simple. His plan was going well, until the deer noticed that his home is being checked and shot the fox in the shoulder from behind.

"What are you doing in my house, Fox ?!" The deer shouted and shot more rounds into the couch.

The fox considered answering, but thought it would make the situation much worse.

"No response? Are you in so much pain that you can't talk?" The deer mocks.

The fox held his left shoulder, trying to staunch blood flowing from the wound.

"Fine! Then if you don't want to answer…" The deer continued

Then the living room become quite.  _Is he leaving?_ The fox wondered. He peeked from behind the couch and noticed that the deer was gone, the door on the right is opened. Nick carefully walked towards the deer last position to investigate. When he looked at the door, a gun tip comes out from the door and immediately shot, with his reflex, the fox dodge it and take cover behind the wall.

"Come out and drop your weapon fox, or I swear to god, I will shoot this cub." said the deer

The fox take a peek from the wall and sees the deer has his gun to a wolf cub’s head. The wolf cub’s muzzle is shut tight with a duct tape along with his hand and feet tied. The cub looks scared and is crying.

 _Tch,_ the fox thought.

With a defeated sigh the fox throws his gun away and slowly comes out of his cover.

"Good, now….." the deer pointed the gun at the fox, “any last words?" He continued

"I have three actually.” The fox says, with a smerk on his face. “Did you count?" the fox finally speaks

"What ?"

Before the deer had the time to think, the fox started running toward him, drawing his police issued baton. The deer pulls the trigger, only to find his revolver is empty. When he finally realized what the fox meant, the spinning baton hit his hand, knocking the weapon from his hoof, followed by a hit to the stomach and the back of his head, knocking him out. In a matter of seconds the situation was turned around.

 _What a pain in the ass_ , the fox thought.

* * *

 

Not long after that, the police had come to the scene. The fox is sitting on the ambulance while his left shoulder being treated.

"We have to stop meeting like this, Nick." said the female hippo EMT.

"Yeah. We should, but this time I swear it was a coincidence, Hippy." he agree

"That's what you said the last time we met." Hippy mocked.

Their conversation ended when a huge figure approach them.

"Wilde." a buffalo greet him.

"Chief." he greeted back.

"After all that's done, come to my office." the chief ordered.

 _Great, another speech session_ , Nick thought.

Instead of answering he just stared into the buffalo’s eyes.

"I take that as a yes. Now if you excuse me, I have a job to do." the chief said as he walks away.

* * *

 

It took Nick a few hours to finally get his shoulder patched up. The doctor said, he should rest for at least a week to give his shoulder time to heal. After he's finished at the hospital, Nick goes straight to the precinct. The door to chief Bogo’s office has never changed. When he saw it the first time, he was very nervous. But now, this door is just a door to him. He knocks on the door. After a few moments, the chief answered it.

"Come in."

Nick opened the door, walked in, and sat on the chair in front of Bogo’s desk.

"First things first, I want to congratulate you for solving that case, and saving that wolf cub’s life." said Bogo.

"Thank you sir" Nick replied.

"I heard from the doctor that you’ll need a full week of rest to heal. Looking at your past performance, it seems useless to force you to rest. I recommend you avoid field work until your shoulder is fully healed."

"But that is not the only reason I called you here, I'm assigning one of the officers to be your partner, she will help you with all of your cases." he continued

Nick didn't respond to that statement.

"Now, I know that you have a  **past**  with this kind of thing, but now days you're…"

A knock on a door cut off Bogo’s sentence.

"You called, chief?" said the voice from behind the door

"Come in, Hopps." Said Bogo.

The door opens revealing a grey furred bunny, with a black tipped ears.

"Take a seat." continue Bogo while pointing the seat beside Nick.

"Wilde, this is officer Judy Hopps" as he pointed at the bunny

"And Hopps, you may already know him, but this is detective Wilde" he continued.

Judy had heard of him from her colleagues. Detective Wilde, the first and currently, the only fox cop. He’s been on the force for so long, that nobody knows when he first joined. She looks at the fox, his face is showing no emotion.

"Now Hopps, you’ve done nothing wrong. In fact, you've been doing a very good job these months, so I decided to give you a promotion. From now on you're going to assist detective Wilde on any of his cases." Said Bogo.

Both Nick and Judy eyes were widened when they hear that. It took her a few seconds to come back to reality. She wanted to scream out in joy, but decided not to make a bad impression.

"Thank you so much sir!" She said, while holding in her excitement

"I hope you won’t waste this opportunity. Now… you're dismissed, I need to speak with detective Wilde alone." ordered Bogo.

"Yes sir!" said Hopps, as she saluted then exited the room.

The room had become quite again after Judy left. Bogo decided to break the silence.

"I assume you have no objection over this."

"Actually, I have. No, I will not accept that bunny as my partner." Nick finally spoke

"Nick, I know what you're thinking, but you're getting more and more careless these days. I don't want to lose one of my best,  **again**! So you need someone to watch your back!"

"She'll only slow me down."

"Don't worry Wilde, that bunny was the top of her class. The only reason why I don't put her in the field is because she's still naïve, and I’m entrusting that to you."

"Sir, with all due respect…"

"Shut it Wilde! My decision is final and won’t change. Now get out of here, before I suspend you for the week it’ll take your shoulder to heal!"

They stared at each other. Nick still wanted to argue, but he knows that the chief doesn't play around with this threat, and his shoulder injury is the more reason to suspend him. Finally he sighed in defeat.

"Fine." He said calmly before exiting the room.

* * *

 

Judy still cannot believe what just happened. After all these months giving it her best, she's finally being promoted.

"Woohoo!" she shouted in joy

"Whoa! What’s got you all excited?” A voice beside her asked.

She turns to see a chubby cheetah in the reception desk, smiling at her.

"Clawhauser, I just got promoted!" she said.

"Wow, good for you Judy! Promoted to what exactly?" Clawhauser asked

"I'll be working under detective Wilde!"

"Detective Wilde? Detective Nick Wilde?" Clawhauser asked with disbelief.

"Yes. What’s wrong with him?" Judy wondered.

"Nothing. It’s just that you're a rabbit and he's a fox. It’s kinda weird of Bogo pair you up. Maybe it's because you both are the first of your species on the force."

Now that Judy thought about it, it did seem kind of weird. Well, aside from the fact that they were both the first of their species on the force, they’re actually natural enemies. Judy knows that not all foxes are as bad as Gideon Grey, but it still bothers her. How will her father react if he finds out that Judy is working under a fox.

"Huh…..what else do you know about him? Judy asked

"He's a quiet person, and he usually shies away from other mammals. Oh and detective Wilde has been working alone for a long time, I can't imagine him with a partner"

Judy had mixed feeling after hearing this about her new partner. Her thought broke when she sees her partner walking down the stairs.  _I can't judge mammal by its species. This is a good thing, and I’m going to go through with_  it, she thought.

"Oh there he is. Gotta go, Clawhauser." Judy said as she approached Nick.

"Have a nice day, Judy" replied Clawhauser, as he watched Judy running towards Nick.

 _I wonder what will happen with them,_ Clawhauser thought.

* * *

 

Nick still cannot accept the fact that he has a partner now. He's walking toward his office, located on the first floor. He stops when a voice calls him from behind.

"Detective Wilde?"

 _Great, just what I need right now,_  he thought sarcasticly

He turns around to see Judy standing in front of him, full of enthusiasm.

"I'm ready for assignment, sir." the bunny said

He looks at her from top to bottom.

 _What was Bogo thinking? How is this little bunny gonna help me solve cases?_ Nick thought.

He just sighed and says "Follow me." as he started to walk again.

 _So far so good,_ Judy thought.

Judy followed behind him. Everyone that passed them is either confused or surprised at the fact that the bunny, who has been a meter maid for months now, is working with a detective. The more shocking fact is that the detective is Nick Wilde, the loner. Nick doesn't have a problem with this at all, but Judy didn't know if she wanted to feel proud or embarrassed. After a short walk they arrived a Nick’s office. The office smaller than the chief’s, but it still amazed Judy to have your own office in the precinct.

"Wait here." Nick ordered while he's goes inside a closet.

Judy can't wait to help solve a case, like a real detective. After months of being meter maid and doing paper work, she's finally going to be a real cop.

Nick comes back carrying a ton of paperwork in his paws and dropped it on the table in front of Judy.

"Here's the paperwork I haven't finished. I'll be at my desk if you need me." said Nick while he started to walk towards his desk

Judy imagination broke as she looks at the ton of paperwork,  _All these months just to get more paper work!?_  Judy thought angrily.

"Sir, wait!" Judy tone started to rise

Nick glanced back at her.

"Chief Bogo said I'm here to assist you with your cases not doing your paperwork!" she protest

"You still don't understand, do you? I work alone! Fortunately for you, Bogo said you can help me with all of my cases. But he didn't say how you do it, right? So this is the best I can do for you. Finish my paper work, you get to be my partner and I don't get disturbed. Everybody’s happy." Nick said calmly

"But sir, I want to go to field with you!" Judy's said with anger

"Even if Bogo send you to me, I'm still your superior. If you don't want to do this, I could have just report your insubordination to him, and you can be meter maid for all I care!" He replied.

Judy’s anger cooled off a little bit by that last sentence. Being a meter maid again is definitely worst than this. And she finally realized that all of her actions before could get her fired if she says it to her superior, but Nick didn't. With a look of guilt, she apologized "I'm sorry sir, that was rude of me."

Nick stayed silent for a little bit, and answered, "Just get the paper done" as he walked to his desk

Judy sat on the couch and started to work. She was still upset from before, but decided not to make it worse by getting angry.

Nick looks at her when she didn't notice.

 _Why didn't I fire her,_ he wondered. Then he realized that Judy looked exactly the way he did before  **that**  happened.

He smiled secretly and hopes that she'd never go through what he'd been through.

 


	2. The Discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been revised as well, again thanks to @SaberGatomon

Judy scowled as she walked to Nick office. She's holding a cup of coffee in her hands. A month working with Nick was harder than she thought would be. Her daily work consist of working out Nick paperwork or doing what she's been told by him. Judy colleagues notice it and tease her for it. They even have a nickname for her based on her daily activity, "The secretary". Judy was so embarrassed because of that. A voice called from behind made Judy stop.

"Hey, Judy, you doing another errand?" said Wolford

The mammals around her chuckled as he said that. Judy felt embarrassed and furious as she continue walking, ignoring them. Judy slammed the door to Nick office and goes straight to his desk.

"Here's your coffee." said Judy, in anger, before going back to her desk and continuing her work.

Nick noticed her tone, but simply didn't care. He's concentrating on the file in front of him. Yesterday, a dead body has been found in an alley with no bruises or wounds of any kind. This was the seventh case where the same thing happened. There were no leads regarding the cause of it. Fortunately for Nick, this time there was a witness, a Hippo with the name of Michael. He said he saw the victim talking in the alley with a sheep before suddenly falling to the ground. The sheep ran away when Michael approach them and call for help. When the EMTs got on site, they said the victim was still alive as they heard his heartbeat, but the victim is not moving at all even though his eyes are still opened. The victim died 3 hours later, heart failure. The police came to conclusion that this was an ordinary overdosed junkie and closed the case. But his instincts tells him there's something else going on there. Therefore he checked it back to see what's he's missing.

I need more information, Nick thought. Nick can only think of one person if it involves drugs.

"Hey, rabbit, give this to Bogo, and tell him I need to check something out!" said Nick as he placed the file on Judy table.

"Sir, with all due respect, I have a name and it's Judy Hopps, and I would appreciated if you call me by that name" said Judy while holding her anger.

Nick doesn't care and exited the room.

 _Jerk_ , Judy thought.

She looked at the file Nick placed, and a thought cross her mind as she open the file and read it.

* * *

 

"C'mon People ! I already discount this 50 percent off, and you still want more?" A weasel protest as mammals walk by his store not paying attention to him.

"Weaselton…" says a voice from behind him, his eyes widened.

Weaselton is a cautious mammal, because of his past of working in the underground. It's impossible to sneak up to him, but when he IS being sneaked up on, he knows there's only one mammal that capable of doing that. Weaselton slowly turned around to see that familiar face.

"Oh, oh, hey Wilde, can I help you?" said the weasel nervously

"I need some information regarding some drug dealers" Nick answered

Weaselton eyes widened even more when he hears that.

"No! I told you before, I don't want to be involved in any of your cases anymore, it will only bring problems to me!" Weaselton said trying to stand his ground.

Nick didn't answer and instead stared deeply into the weasel eyes. Weasealton feels more nervous as he looked into Nick stares and remembered what Nick did to him a long time ago, and finally give up.

"Allright, Allright, just don't do that thing again to me, I beg you!" he pleaded

"I'm looking for a new dealer, specifically a sheep." Nick said

"You're searching for a ram named Doug, before you decide to hear about this guy, I warning you, that guy is the kind of guy you want to avoid."

"Tell me more"

* * *

 

This is it, thought Nick while looking at the cheap hotel. He made sure this was the right address Weaselton gave to him. He proceed to the intended room and stopped in front of the door. Nick could hear music playing inside the room.

"Excuse me, pizza delivery" Nick lied

There's no answer.

 _Didn't buy it huh._ thought Nick as he drew his gun and kicked the door open. What he found there made him astonished. The room was a mess, but there's one particular thing that drew Nick’s attention. The ram he's looking for was seated in the middle of the room, covered in blood with his hooves tied.

 _What happened here?_ Nick wondered as he sees the ram isn’t moving. A glimpse of figure jumping out of the room through the window, returns him to reality. Nick let his instinct take over and immediately runs to the alley outside. But his chase only last until the figure take a turn and vanished into thin air.

 _Shit, I lost him_ , Nick cursed himself for letting the figure go.

Nick decided to go back to the hotel room, and checked it. He checked Doug’s pulse and confirmed he was already dead. His face was swollen, probably because whoever the mammal had been had punched him in the face over and over.

He was being tortured, but for what exactly? Nick wondered. He searched the room and found nothing until he checked the bathroom and found Doug’s stash below the sink. It was some kind of pill. He put it down as he doesn't know what is the drug and who made it. Nick then search the only place he hasn't checked yet, the body. Where he found a piece of paper in Doug’s hoof. It contains a series of numbers. Nick thought on it for a few moment and realize it was a coordinates. He pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

"Clawhauser? I found a dead body in Hill Street Resort, downtown, send backup will ya." He hung up without giving Clawhauser a chance to respond.

Nick dialed another number in his phone.

"Bunny, I need you to go into my computer and check coordinates for me"

"For the last time sir, im….., argh just forget it, wait a second." Judy said

"What's the coordinates?"

"N85 87 33, W66 80 45" Nick answered

Nick hears a typing sound on the line.

"There's no record of those coordinates sir, it only shows a blank area" Judy answered

"what's the closest area to there?" Nick asked

"Banyon st, in the edge of savanna central, can I ask you what is this coordinates sir?"

Nick hung up.

 _I better leave before that buffalo butt start asking for a report._ Nick thought as he leaves the scene.

Unknown to Nick, a pair of eyes watched him the whole time from the moment Nick re-entered the room.

"Boss ?"

"Is it done?”

"Yes, but we have a problem."

"What is it?”

"The ram wouldn't give up the answer and died before telling it."

The voice on the other line became silent.

"But, there was a fox who broke in, it seems like he's some kind of detective, and found something, What do you want me to do about him ?"

"Follow him, Capture him if possible and don’t kill him until you get the answer!"

"Ok boss"

* * *

 

"Sir ? Hello, Sir?"

Judy slammed the phone when she realized Nick was hung up on her. _That fox!_ Judy thought in anger. Judy looked at the coordinates. She connected the dots and assumed the coordinates was a place that connected to his case. Her thoughts this morning resurfaced in her mind. She rethinks it, but her anger determined her choice. _I had enough of this, I'm gonna find that place first, and solve this case, leaving that fox dumbfounded_. Judy thought.

Judy drove to savanna central with her meter maid cart, because that's the only vehicle she's got.

 _Ugh, when will I get a real car?_ She complained

She looked around the edge to find the area and found an abandoned industrial area.

This seems about it, Judy thought in happiness.

The sign says : Wether Industries

Judy hearts sank when she sees the gate are opened.

 _Oh no! Is he already here?_ Judy thought, and sure enough, it's confirmed when she saw Nick's car parked in front of the warehouse. A few moments later, the fox comes out from the warehouse. When he saw Judy and his eyes widened a little bit before going back to his poker face.

"What did I say about not disturbing me?" Nick said

Judy didn't think this far ahead, she thought Nick would have a trouble finding the place, blinded by her anger she was forgetting that the fox was not just a regular detective but a veteran one. Of course finding places like this is easy for him. With that in mind, Judy tried to reason with him.

"I can explained sir…." She pauses and raised her ears. A sound of a gun safety being released is heard by her. Nick noticed her expression and look at the direction she concentrated to hears. He saw 3 armed mammals are coming toward them. They both froze when they saw that, until one of the mammals raise his gun to them and reflexes took over, as he grabbed Judy by her arms and pull her behind his car. A second later, there was a loud sound of the car penetrated by bullets.

"Stop it, We don't want to kill them yet" One of the mammals shouted

Judy still in shock, she knows what’s about to happen as soon as she heard the sound, but she couldn't react fast enough. If Nick hadn't pulled her behind the car, she would be…

Judy’s face become pale when she imagined that. Nick took a peek and sees them clearly now, It was a wolf and a two tigers.

"Hopps! Call backup"

Nick order return Judy to reality, She reached her intercom and started to call.

"Clawhauser !"

"Judy? What’s wrong?" Clawhauser asked from the other end

"We currently in an abandoned neighborhood near….."

She was cut off when her intercom suddenly exploded into pieces and a hole appeared on the car. When they looked behind there was no one there.

"Sniper!" said Nick looking around him

"Fox, come out, by now you must have realized that our sniper has you in his sight right?" Nick peeks and sees the wolf shouting at them.

"The only reason you're not dead yet are because we just want to talk, specifically about what you found" the wolf continued

Nick thought of the only way to escape the sniper’s sight.

"Hopps! C'mon"

He grabbed Judy arm and ran toward the abandoned warehouse.

"Ah, You want to play hide and seek? Fine by me." The wolf shout as he sees Nick and Judy entering into the abandoned warehouse.

"Ray, get down here and take the boys to the back door, I handle the front" The wolf said in his intercom

"Copy that boss"

  



	3. The Getaway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, im back !!  
> Sorry for taking such a long time to continue this, you know, Real life and writer block, the usual stuff.  
> And as always thanks to @SaberGatomon for proof reading all of my work.  
> If you guys have some story to be proof read, try contacting him.  
> Anyway, here's the next chapter.

“You can’t hide forever Fox. Come out willingly and maybe we let the bunny go.”

_Yeah, like hell you will!_ Judy thought.

“Sir, listen to me. We can fight them off !” whispered Judy

Nick didn’t respond at first, he kept looking around, trying to figure out how to get both of them out of this situation safely.

“Sir?” Judy’s voice brought him back to reality.

_I guess there’s no other way._ Nick thought

“Stay here Hopps. I have a plan.” he said, before sneaking, surprisingly fast, through the maze of cabinets inside the warehouse.

“Sir, wait!” Judy tried to follow him, but Nick doesn’t have time to wait for her and the warehouse is quite dark, so it’s hard for her to see clearly. As a result, Judy lost track of her superior.

“Sir ? Where are you?” Judy whispered.

 “Found you!”

A blinding light shines from Judy’s left. Even though it’s hard to see, she can see a bear pointing a flashlight and a gun at her. It doesn’t take long for her to realize, he was one of them.

 Judy turned around almost immediately and started running. She tried to shake the bear off by never taking a straight path, but she doomed herself when she meets up with a dead end.

  _Oh shit !_ ,she tried to go back but unfortunately the bear was already in her path.

“Dead end bunny. Let’s make this simple shall we. Don’t struggle. We just want to have a little chat with the fox.” said the bear as he coming loser.

Judy tried to fight back by jumping forward and kick him in the face, but the bear sees it coming and dodge it. Judy safely lands but before she could do anything, the bear grabs her by the ears and toss her against the wall.

“Ack” she cries

She tried to stand but the pain all over her body is enough to make her unable to move. She’s leaning back to the wall when Fear started to fill in her as she watched the bear slowly moving in.

But before the bear is able to reach her, a shadow appears above him. It was Nick carrying his baton and hit the bear in the head hard enough to knock him down.

                                                  

“That’s one” he said calmly

Judy has never been happy to see her partner.

“Hopps, you ok?” Nick asked as he tried to get her up before Judy suddenly hugged him and cried.

“I thought you left me.” she said.

Nick is rendered speechless by her words. He didn’t know what to do in this situation.

“I’m sorry, Hopps, I….”

They hugged in silence for a few seconds before Nick continue.

“I usually work alone. I forgot you didn’t have any experience with this”

“It’s okay” she dried her tears

“I’ll promise to never leave you again, but if we gonna make it out of here alive, you need to do exactly as I say.” Nick reassured her.

“Okay”

“I counted how many of them while I was gone. There’s 7 of them including this bear. I know where the exit is, but we might encounter one of them while heading there.”

Judy nodded.

“If that happens, I want you to stay quiet and let me do the work while also watching my back. Can you do that?”

“Yes sir.”

“Here, take my gun. Try not to use it. I don’t like to kill, and I’ll bet you don’t want to either.”

Judy took the gun from his paw. Even though she knew how to use the gun, it’s the first time he allowed to use it. Since she wasn’t issued one and her only defense weapon was a can of fox repellent.

“Thank you.” she said

Nick fell silent for a moment before he answered

“You’re welcome. Now let’s move!”

* * *

 

 They moved fast and quiet. Judy does exactly as her partner ordered when encountering  mercenaries along the way, stay and watch. She’s amazed by Nick’s agility and fighting skill as he takes them down. _How many years he’s been fighting to be that good,_ Judy wondered.  Uknown to them, a pair of eyes is watching from behind.

* * *

 

 Nick is getting tired. He already knocked out 3 more mercenaries. _This can’t keep going, we need to move fast,_ he thought.

”Cmon, Judy lets go.” he called, but Judy didn’t appear.

“Judy ?” he called one more time

_Shit! Is she caught?_ he wondered.

He run towards her hiding place, but instead of finding her, a punch welcome him in the face, throwing him back and knocking down a couple of cabinets.

“Over here guys” A voice shouted

Nick tried to get up, but he’s still dizzy from the punch he took, he tried to focus and see what’s in front of him.

It was a wolf, holding his gun to Judy’s head, while his other hand covered Judy’s mouth.

“Don’t you dare move fox, or I’ll blow this bunny’s head off.” the wolf said.

Nick was considering how fight him off, but the other mercenaries have arrived, a lion on his right and bear on his left, surrounding him. Judy tried to struggle and speak.

The wolf then hit her in the head with his gun.

“If you keep struggling, I will shoot you.”

That action has made Nick mad, his body all tense up, ready to fight.

The wolf noticed this and decided to take action.

“Last chance” said the wolf releasing his gun safety.

“Drop your weapon fox” said the lion to Nick’s right

He looked into Judy’s violet eyes. She’s shaking her head. _No sir, don’t do that. Don’t worry about me_. Judy thought. Nick drop his baton, he can’t afford to _lose someone else_.

 “Good.” said the wolf

“Just let the rabbit go, I’m the one you want.” nick said

“Maybe, I will consider it, but for now….”

The lion and the bear closing on Nick, and the last thing he remembered was a pain behind his neck before blacking out. 

* * *

 

As Nick began to wake up, he immediately feel that sharp, throbbing pain on the back of his neck. He tried to reach it with his arm, but his arm can’t move from it’s place, and then he remembered. He’s been captured. Nick began to look around, he’s still in the abandoned warehouse, sitting in a chair with his hand behind his back tied with a duct tape. His leg is strapped to the chair with a duct tape. He noticed the computer that he used just a few hours ago, and realized he’s in the middle of the warehouse.

“Sir, are you okay?”

He sees Judy lying on the ground in front of him, with her hands and feet tied behind her back. The others are not anywhere nearby.

“I gave you one job rabbit, to look out, and you screwed it up. Now look at us.” Nick replied.

That statement makes her both mad and guilty. She’s still being underestimated, but its true this happened because of her.

“I’m sorry.”

Before Nick could reply, a voice emerged

“Well, look who finally woke up.” 

Nick look to his right and sees the mammals from before approaching him.

“Well what are you guys chatting about?” The wolf asked

“Let the rabbit go, she has nothing to do with this” Nick replied

“Well I already said I considered it, so here’s what we’re gonna do, tell me what you found in this warehouse, depends on your answer, I might release her.”

“Nothing” Nick said

“Really? Cause I’m pretty sure that computer is still on.” The wolf pointed at the computer not far from him.

Nick doesn’t answer when he hears that.

“What did you find fox?”

Nick kept his mouth shut.

“My subordinates have already woken up, and most of them are pretty pissed about what you did to them. So they’re most likely gonna want to pay you back for that.”

Realizing what’s going to happen, Judy’s eyes widened while Nick doesn’t even flinch when he hears that.

“Well, if that’s your answer then we have no choice. All yours Ray” he turns to face the bear

The bear punches Nick in the face so hard that Nick fell down with his chair.

 “No ! stop !” Judy panicked

“Don’t worry darling, we’re not gonna touch you…… as long as he talks.” The wolf reassured.

Ray fixed Nick position, getting ready for another round.

“Why are you doing this?” Judy asked

“Well, let’s just say my boss is looking for something and this fox happens to know about it” The wolf said as Ray punched Nick again.

“Stop! Please!” Judy cried

“Not until he tell us where it is”

“Sir, please, just tell them where it is. This is not worth your life.”

“You’re just gonna ignore your partner’s plea?”

Nick still kept his mouth shut.

“Well I’m impressed fox. You’re very persistent, but we got all the time we need, so just take it slow. OK ?” the wolf smile as the bear continue to punch him. 

* * *

Judy is horrified by what she’s watching.

She doesn’t know what time it exactly is, but she’s pretty sure this has been going on for an hour or two. They all constantly punched Nick, when one of them is tired, another one takes his place. There’s blood all around Nick’s body. His face is swollen. She’s even heard a few of Nick ribs has broken. She tried many times to stop them or make Nick talk, but shouting and pleading is not really helping.

 “He’s not gonna talk.” said the lion

 “I’m losing my patience, fox” the wolf coming towards him

“I need that location. NOW!” he screamed at Nick

 Nick still kept his mouth shut.

“Fine, you pushed me beyond my limit.” the wolf is moving towards Judy

He took a knife and put it on Judy’s cheek.

“Last chance, tell us or she dies” said the wolf

Nick looks at them.

_Tch_ , he thought.

Judy cried in pain when the wolf started to slowly slice into Judy cheek with the knife.

“Stop, I’ll tell you.” Nick said in a low voice.

“Ah finally. So what is it? “ the wolf asked

Nick is mumbling something they can’t hear, except for Judy.

“You shouldn’t have done that.”

“What?” asked the wolf

Nick repeated the same thing, but the wolf still can’t hear it.

As the wolf getting closer to him, Nick counted how many enemies in his line of sight. A lion to his right, 2 bears and a jaguar on his left, two tiger next to Judy, and finally the wolf coming towards him. _That’s all of them,_ he thought _._

What they all don’t know, is that after falling many times, Nick picked up a small glass shard on the ground and started to cut his bindings. When the wolf arrived in front of him, Nick’s hands are already freed.

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Nick said to the wolf

He punched the wolf stomach as hard as he could. The wolf dropped the knife that he’s holding. Nick catches it and throws it into the lion throat. He grabs the gun from the wolf’s belt and shoots the rest of them, except the wolf, before they can even react.

The wolf punches Nick when he recovers. Nick to falls again, but this time, the chair, weakened from the hours of abuse, breaks.

“You son of bitch!” The wolf closes in on Nick to finish his job, but Nick, still holding the gun, shot both of the wolf’s kneecaps. The wolf screams in pain and collapses.

 “You shouldn’t have done that to her.” said Nick in cold voice as he tried to stand.

“Wait….” The wolf couldn’t finish his sentence, as Nick shot him in the head.

Judy couldn’t process what just happen. It all happened in an instant. Nick goes to the dead lion’s body and pulled the knife from his throat.

“What just happened?” She asked

He responded by cutting the duct tape that bound her hands and feet. But after doing that, he just collapsed.

“Nick!”  Judy cries.

Nick knows that his body is at his limits.

“Judy. Get out of here.” He says.

“No! I won’t leave you.”

“Staying here won’t do anything, you dumb bunny. Go get help.”

“Then, what about you?”

“I’ll be fine, I’m ……just…. Tired.” Nick said, as he lost consciousness.

“Nick? Nick! Don’t give up Nick….Nic……Ni..” 

That sentence is the last thing he hear as the world around him turned black.

 


	4. The aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit faster than before, props to @Daniel+Kim+Hansen for his comment that gives me the motivation to write the next chapter :D also lets not forget about my humble proof reader @SaberGatomon
> 
> thanks and enjoy

_Nick, please hang on_ , Judy thought as she runs alongside the nurses pushing the emergency bed that Nick was on.  

She doesn’t get far, as one of the nurses stop her in front of the operating room.

"This is as far as you go ma'am. Please wait here until the procedure is done." The nurse said before closing the door.

Realizing there was nothing she could do anymore, she sit and patiently waiting. Judy mind is still in shock, processing what just happen in less than 24 hours.

_This is all my fault,_ She thought.

After Nick passed out, Judy had no time to think, she ran outside and asked for help from the first mammal she sees. The Police and Ambulance arrived not so long after that.

_If only i called earlier….._

_If only I hadn’t go there in the first place……._

"Hopps" a voice distract her from her _thought_

Judy looked at the source of the voice and sees Chief Bogo standing in the hallway.

"Report" The chief ordered

Judy tells him everything knowing she could be fired because of it.

Silence fills the hallway for a few seconds after Judy finished her report. Feeling guilt and regret, she’s ready to accept anything that would happen to her, but instead of getting shouted at, the chief only sighed.

"Hopps, I handed you over to him to prevent a suicidal mission like this, not to join it.”

"I'm sorry sir, I'm aware of my mistake, I will take responsibility and accept all the consequences that are given to me." she said in a trembling voice

Bogo stare her for a few seconds.

No matter how brave Judy is, she still naïve and probably traumatize after all she's been trough. _Just like **him** , _Bogo thought of a certain fox.

"This is not your fault, both of you are just happen to be at the wrong place in the wrong time"

What the chief said doesn’t make Judy’s feeling better at all and the chief notices this. Caring deeply for all of his officers, he spoke.

"Hopps, I know that this must be hard for you, but I want you to make this experience a lesson. Being a cop is not what you think it is. “Making the world a better place” is a simple sentence, yet it’s a very hard thing to do, we always lose something in the process of it"

Judy let Bogo’s words sink into her heart.

_Am i really ready for this?_ She thought

“Which is why I keep giving you parking duty and paper assignment, you’re not ready to face the darkside of the city. I don’t want you to fall into the same hole that Nick fell into.”

Judy attention was drawn by that last sentence.

"What do you mean?" She asked

Bogo cursed himself for letting the secret, that he kept for more than 10 years, slip. He thought about it for a moment and decided to tell her.

"Believe it or not, Nick is used to be like you. A determined young fox who believed he could make the world a better place.”

Judy is surprised by that statement.

“Let me tell you a story”

* * *

 

Nick felt cold. He can’t see anything except the darkness.

_Am I dead?_

The view then changes to **that day**. 

He sees himself and a black furred wolf, come out into snowy environment of Tundra Town from an abandoned supermarket.

“We made it.” Nick said

“It’s not over yet. We still need to contact the ZPD.” The wolf reply

“Right.”

 

_Stop…_

_I don’t want to see this._

“Let’s go Nick.” the black furred wolf starts running

But their run didn’t last long when something clicked below the wolf.

The wolf screamed in pain when a bear trap snaps shut on his left leg.

Even though he has seen this many times, he still flinches when this particular parts happen.

“Wolfe !”

_No…._

_Stop this_

_I don’t want to see this anymore._

“Oh god…” Nick remembers the first time he sees that wound.

“That bad, huh? That tiger is pretty slick for leaving this here” The wolf trying to lighten up the mood.

 “Hold on. I’m going to pry this open.” said Nick

“I don’t think that’s a good ide…..” his words are replaced by a screaming pain

“I’m sorry!” Nick immediately stop what he’s doing.

Nick hated this.

He hated seeing himself so helpless, so naïve, over and over again.

“Just go on without me, Nick” 

This is the part he hates the most.

 “What ? No ! I’m not leaving you behind!”

_Liar._

“You have to! I’ll only slows you down, either **He** will comeback or we will both freeze to death.” The wolf states the fact.

_Don’t listen to him._

“What about you?”

“Don’t worry about me, I can survive this cold for a bit with my fur, lets just hope **He** doesn’t comeback, before you do”

Nick remembers he panicked at that moment, he doesn’t know what to do.

_Stupid naïve fox! Help him, you dumbass!_

“Please Nick, do it for me.”

_I hate that sentence._

“Don’t you die on me, Wolfe” Nick sees himself started running, leaving the wolf behind.

_Turn back !_

_Don’t leave him to die !_

 

Nick try to change the outcome of that moment but he still sees himself slowly fade to the distance. Tears began to flow from his eyes, as he remembered the mistake he made.

“Why did you leave me?”

Nick turned around to see the wolf, now covered in blood.

“I’m sorry” is all nick can say.

“Why didn’t you come back for me?” The wolf then started to choke Nick with his paw. He pushed Nick to the ground, pinning him.

_I deserve this._

Nick began to lose his consciousness as he accept his fate when a faint voice came from somewhere.

“Sir…”

“... Don’t …”

“…. Up”

Nick isn’t bothered by it at first, but the sound is getting clearer and the views are getting brighter.

“Sir……Don’t…..give….”

 The light is erasing his nightmare bit by bit.

“Sir….. Stay….me”

“Nick don’t die !”

Nick feels a water drop in his face. He slowly opened his eyes.

It took Nick eyes a few second before they can see what lies beyond them.

The first thing he sees was an unknown ceiling.

_Where am I ?_

Then he spots a zebra with a female deer holding a defibrillator on both of her hands.

And the last thing he spots, seemed very weird to him.

A crying rabbit.

_Judy ?_

“Oh thank god!” said Judy.

“Hopps? What happened?” Nick asked.

“You were dead a moment there.”

Nick started to remember what happened before.

“You’ve made it, Judy.” Nick said with a smile.

Judy felt both shocked and angry when she hears that.

“How can you worried about someone else, when you almost died, you stupid fox!” cries Judy

Nick doesn’t answer that question as he realizes that he has become attached to Judy. He can’t afford to lose another mammal in his life.

_This is why I work alone, you damn buffalo,_ Nick cursed in his thought.

“Ms Hopps, I need to check Nick condition. Could you please stand aside for a moment?” the zebra, which Nick assumed to be a doctor, says.

“Oh, of course.” Said Judy while drying her tears.

 After assuring that Nick’s condition was stable, the doctor left the room, leaving an awkward silence between Nick and Judy before Nick decided to break it.

“So, what happened after I passed out?” 

“I ran outside to search for help. Luckily Grizzoly was patrolling not far from there, and you probably can guess the rest”

_Heh, I guess my luck hasn’t run out yet,_ Nick chuckled.

“Did I say something funny, sir?” Judy wondered.

“No, it’s nothing.” Nick said while he secretly smiles.

This time, Judy sees it.

“How long I’ve been asleep?”

“Two days”

“That long, huh…”

Noticing his behavior, Judy is like talking to an entirely different person. Then she remembers what the chief has told her.

* * *

_“From that day, He’s never been the same again” Chief Bogo said._

_Judy was speechless.  She’s was shocked by Nick past. She never though the reason Nick didn’t want to have a partner would be so sad and frightening._

_“He never wanted to get partnered again, even if I forced him. He would just do his job alone, like he did to you. So I stopped…..until you came.”_

_“Why me?”Judy asked_

_“Because you’re the same as him before that whole thing happened.”_

_Judy knows where the chief’s going with this._

_“Nick is getting more and more careless these days, the only option I got is to suspend him from duty or get him a partner to watch his back. So I made a choice. I was hoping it would bring him to his senses.” the chief points at Judy._

_Judy doesn’t know what to say. She can't describe what she’s feeling at the moment. She finally realized why Nick is prefer to be alone and the chief is handing her to Nick hoping that she will somehow change him. But She feels like she’s not good enough to change someone personality. All of this is happening so fast, she can’t think this through._

_“Chief, I….”_

_Chief Bogo read Judy’s face and immediately understood_

_“I understand if this is putting a lot of  pressure on you. I’m not forcing you or anything, if you don’t think you’re not up for it, then I can partnered you up with someone else. I’m telling you all of this, not to make you pity Nick but to make sure you don’t make the same mistake as he did. Do you understand?”_

_Judy nodded._

_“Good. Now get your cheek patched up and rest. I’ll need your full report in the morning, and Hopps…..”_

_“Don’t share this with anyone, the mammals who knew this story are either out of the force or reassigned to other precinct, you’re the only one who knows in Precinct 1 beside me and Nick himself, and Nick definitely doesn’t want it to be known”_

_“Yes sir.”_

* * *

“Hopps? You there?”

Nick voice bring her back to reality.

“Oh, yeah, pardon me, what was it again ?”

“Where’s Bogo? “

“The chief? He’s still at the precinct. Want me to call him?”

“That won’t be necessary.” Bogo surprised them both when he opens the door and enters the room.

“Wilde”

This time, Nick doesn’t greet back.

“Report”

Nick just sighed, and started telling him what happened.

“What exactly did you find back there?” The chief asked

“The information about the new drug. It’s called “The Nighthowler”. The ones who made it is “Wether industries” a company we shut down years ago. Do you remember ?”

“Yeah, the one that use the flower who can turns any mammals savage”

“Exactly. Apparently the founder of that company, Dawn Bellwether, who escaped our custody years ago, is still developing the drug in secret” Nick said

“Did you find any information regarding her location?”  

“Unfortunately no. She’s too cautious since she’s still wanted by the police. The only contact that she made is with that dead Ram I found named Doug. However, she contact him with different email address to the computer in the warehouse, so its hard to track her.”

“And that mammals who fought you ?”

“I guess they’re mercenaries. They obviously want to find Bellwether’s location too. So I had to delete all the data inside the computer just to be safe.”

“So, this is a dead end….” The chief cursed.

“Not necessarily.”

“I copied all of the data onto a USB flashdrive, hid it in one of the shelves inside the warehouse” Nick smiled.

“Also, just before I delete the data, a new email comes in. Bellwether wants to send Doug the new drug in a month”

The chief is silent for a few seconds and he does not look happy.

“Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“You asked for Bellwether’s location. What I’ve just told you is not exactly what you asked for, so I assumed it wasn’t important.” Nick smile grew larger

“2 weeks of bed rest to recover your injuries, and 2 weeks of suspension after that.” The chief glared at Nick

“Worth it” Nick keeps his smile up until Bogo exits the room.

Judy, still in the room, suddenly feels uneasy around him. “So….I guess… take care then sir.” Judy stands and walked to the door.

“Hopps, wait.”

Judy stopped and turned.

“I just want to say….. I’m grateful that we both made it out of there alive, and I guess I owe you my life. Thank you, Judy.” Nick thanked

Judy fell silent for a moment before smiling.

“No problem sir. Glad to help.” She said before exiting the room.

Judy hops in joy outside the room.

_I guess I can do this after all._

 

 

 

 


	5. The Connection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, im back ! after 2 months i guess ? anyway here's the next chapter :D 
> 
> I always thanks @SaberGatomon to proof read my work. 
> 
> The next chapter might take long like this one or even more since i currently addicted to a certain fandom outside of Zootopia, but hey, maybe all of your comments and support will encourage me to write it faster. 
> 
> Enjoy !

“I told you to stop checking on me, Hopps.” Nick said, as he gazed at the rabbit in the doorway.

“I’m sorry sir, but you know I can’t do that. It’s the chief’s orders.” Judy replied as she put a basket in the table.

_That damn Buffalo_ , Nick cursed.

It’s been 17 days since Nick awakened. The doctor extended Nick stays in hospital, to keep him under observation. He doesn’t mind it, but what really annoys him is the chief asked Judy to check on him every 2 days. Nick thinks this is some kind of ‘revenge’ for the joke that he made before, but Judy and Bogo did it for an entirely different reason.

Nick trys to think of someway to get rid of Judy, but when he realize there’s nothing he can do, he sighs.

“Fine.”

“So, when are you being released? The chief says he reduced your suspension, he says he has something to discuss.” Judy explained

“Tell Bogo I will meet with him tomorrow.”

“That’s great.” Judy is happy that Nick finally can get to work again.

“Yes, now leave me alone” Nick ordered

“OK. I’ll see you tomorrow sir.” Judy is about to get out of the room but stopped when she remember something.

“Oh, almost forgot, I brought this for you, fresh from my family’s farm.” Judy grab the basket he puts before and show it to Nick.

Nick expression changed. If his tail wasn’t tucked in bed at the moment, it would have be wagging out of control.

_Control yourself Nick,_ He thought.

He takes a few and pops them into his mouth.

“So… how is it?” Judy asked.

It’s the most delicious blueberries that mammals have ever created, is what Nick wanted to say, but his pride doesn’t let him.

“It’s pretty good, thanks Hopps.”

“You’re welcome, I’m just gonna put them here for you.” She said as she put the basket to the small table beside Nick’s bed.

“I should go now. See you soon.” She said as she leaves the room.

Nick looks around to make sure she’s really gone before charging on the basket.

* * *

 

“I assumed you know what this about.” Bogo asked, with a serious tone, like he usually does.

“Yes.” Nick answered

“Great, we can start. Tell me the details”

Nick started to explain. He speaks clearly and didn’t add unnecessary information on his explanation.

“Zootopia harbor, midnight, in about a week, seems like a normal drug bust to me.” the chief said

“Don’t underestimate her, Bogo. She slipped past us once before and avoided us for 5 years, I would call that impressive.”

“I know, but this looks……. too easy”

“I agree! Let’s just hope all things run smoothly.” Nick agreed.

“The official meeting will start the day before. In the meantime I have an assignment for you”

Nick suspiciously looked at the smile Bogo had on his face.

* * *

 

“How dare him…”

Nick is trying to hold off his anger as he walked through the hallway.

“So…… are you…..ready sir?” Judy asked nervously while following beside him.

All of the officers that has come across Nick are shocked. They don’t dare laugh at the second oldest officer in Precinct One of course, but that’s not enough for Nick.

He was given a task to accompany Judy, not to catch a criminal, or investigating some cases, but to do parking duty. What’s even more embarrassing is he was given a specific orders to wear the meter maid vest.

“Ok……… let me get the car” Judy approach the 3 wheeled small car she usually drove.

Nick looks at it, and decided not to embarrass himself further.

“Wait, Hopps.” Judy turned to face him

“If we’re going to do this, we’re going to do this my way” Nick said as he shows the car keys he holds.

* * *

 

_I almost forgot how annoying this is,_ Nick thought.

Its almost noon and he only got 50 tickets, which is a major setback since the last time he did this, he got around 100 tickets each day.

To be fair, he could’ve worked really hard to reach that amount, but why would he even bother ?  This is clearly Bogo’s way to “repay” Nick’s doing before. It’s not like he’s gonna get fired or anything.

“200 tickets before noon !!” A familiar voice caught his attention.

He turned to see the rabbit jump in excitement.

While he was slowly doing his “punishment”, Judy is doing her job, collecting tickets at incredible speed. Of course the first time Nick sees this, he is amazed, and he still is.

Every mammal that got into Precinct One always got parking duty. It has become a tradition, but it only last about two weeks. Judy on the other hand, got parking duty way more than the other officers, Nick understands that she’s too naïve and all, but still it’s too much giving her this much parking duty. After all, the officers of Precinct One agree that parking duty is frustrating, yet she’s not giving up and instead gives it her all.

There isn’t a lot of cops who have this kind of determination, and Nick is glad she’s one of them.

A small smile forms on his face without him realizing it.

_There it is again…._ Nick thought as he feels that weird sensation. The feeling he once lost and forgot.

Happiness.

“Are you okay sir?” Judy’s voice brings him back to reality.

“I’m done with this part of the area. How about you?” He quickly wiped the smile out of his face and asked

“Yeah, me too. Want to move to the next area?”

“Let’s go.”  

They both walked back to Nick’s car and got in.

_She would be a great detective,_ Nick thought as he starts the car engine.

He gazed to the rabbit beside him for a second before driving away.

_And I guess its nice having a partner._

The ride is filled with awkward silence like always. Even though they’ve been “partners” for quite some time now, it doesn’t feel that way for them both. It’s probably because of Nick himself who constantly shuts out everything around him, including Judy, and he felt a little regret because of that.

A red-light stopped them in their tracks. Nick looked around to avoid making the situation more awkward.

_I’ve never been there before….._ Nick looked at a restaurant not far from where he is.

His stomach growl thinking about that. Nick looked at his watch and realize its already past noon.

Suddenly, an Idea popped in his head. A really bad idea but some part of him want to do it anyway.

“So…… Hopps, how about lunch? My treat?”

Judy needs a few seconds to process his question before widening her eyes.

“Oh…….no no, you don’t have to do that, I can pay for myself.”

“I haven’t repaid you for all the nice things you did for me at the hospital, not to mention the warehouse.”

“Its okay sir, it was all Bogo’s idea, and you saved my life back at the warehouse, too. You really don’t have to do anything.”

“Please Hopps, I insist” Nick looked into her eyes.

He was surprised at how beautiful they looked.

“O-Oh….. If that’s what you want, then… yeah, sure.”

“Great ! now, where should we go…….”

* * *

 

“I don’t know which to pick sir”

Judy looked at the menu she is holding, the food is not expensive, but still, getting a treat from your superior is extremely…..unsual.

“We’re outside of work Hopps, call me Nick, and choose whatever you want, don’t take too long though, Bogo won’t be happy if he knows we’re slacking around in the middle of the day.” Nick replied.

“OK, Nick.”

Judy got mixed feelings about all this. On one hand, she’s happy that Nick is more open with her, which means all of her and the chief’s efforts worked, but on the other hand, all of this is new to her and she doesn’t know what to do.

_Calm down Judy, first thing first, pick a food,_ She thought

“Uhhh……I’ll have a salad and a carrot juice please.” She said to the waiter.

“Blueberry cake and Blueberry milkshake.” Nick added.

_Huh……., that’s odd, aren’t predators supposed to be eating bug burga,_ Judy wonders in her mind.

The waiter left after she finishes writing the order, which leave the duo with the same uncomfortable silence like before.

_Ugh… how can this thing keep happening when there’s just the two of us, come on Judy, start a conversation,_ Judy thought

She’s trying to find any topic she could think of, but the only thing in her mind is the bug burga  thought from before, not wanting to feel awkward any longer, she ask Nick.

“So, Nick, you aren’t eating bug burga  ?”

“You know Hopps, that line is completely the same as asking ‘are bunnies cute?’ ” He answered

“OH, I’m so sorry.” She quickly apologizes

“Its okay, if you really want to know, bug burga is basically junk food. Prey assumed all the predators eat them, but in reality, not all of us eat those, especially foxes.”

“I see…..how did you know about the “cute” thingy anyway?”

“From you……”

“What? I never…..”

“………through Clawhauser”

“Oh” Judy realized what he meant.

_Blabbermouth!_ , she thought.

“What do you usually eat then, beside blueberries of course?”

“All kind of berries, fruits, sometimes vegetables, but it’s mostly blueberries”

Judy nodded to that statement.

_Guess he really loves blueberries huh………..I should get him more of it in the future,_ she thought

“My turn, Hopps. What made you want to become a cop?” Nick asked

“Oh, well it’s been my dream since I was little, so……yeah.”

“I’d take it your parent didn’t agree with this?”

“Well…..kind of, they did support me though.”

“Was it hard?”

Judy thought it for a second, and the answered.

“Yeah, very hard. It’s not like a bunny can easily be anything beside a carrot farmer with all of this prejudice, but I didn’t give up, and here I am.” said Judy proudly.

“I can relate” Nick chukled

“You mean, it was hard for you as well ?”

“Tell me something Hopps. What do you think of foxes before meeting me? And please, just answer it honestly.”

Nick question is on point. She did think foxes are all shifty and untrustworthy before, even a few days after meeting Nick he still think of that way because of Nick attitude. It’s not just her, all of the bunnies in Bunny burrow did. The parents told that stereotype to their children ever since they are little with the purpose of making them full of caution.

“Shifty and Untrustworthy.” Judy said with guilt.

“There’s your answer.”

Judy never thought that she and Nick shared the same struggle. Maybe it’s even worse for Nick. Sure both of their species is prejudiced, but rabbit can still be a carrot farmer for a career, and it has a quite promising prospect, but what about foxes? There’s nothing to be, if you’re a fox. Foxes most likely will become a thug or a con, and that’s because they have no other choice but to become the stereotype  that mammals always thought.

A new feeling appeared inside of Judy hearts, the feeling of sympathy.

“But you’re not like that, Nick. You’re the nicest and most trustworthy fox I’ve ever known.” Judy stated

Nick looked surprised for a second before answering.

“Even after how I acted in the first few days that we met?”

“Yes, you can be annoying sometimes, but all mammals can be annoying, even me.” Judy answered it without a doubt

Nick closed his eyes and smiled.

“Thank you, Judy.”

Judy replied it with a nod and a smile.

* * *

 

The rest of their day is nothing out of the ordinary. They finished their food and got back to their work. Although, it’s different than before, half an hour inside of a restaurant make an improvement on their relationship. At least they can start a small conversation whenever they’re not occupied, and Judy is thankful for that. They came back to the precinct at the end of the day.

“That was surprisingly not as bad as it should be, considering Bogo did this to punish me , not to make me pleasant company.” Nick said as they both walked through the main hall of the precinct.

“Yeah, definitely better than my usual shifts” Judy agree

“So, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” Nick asked

“Yep.”

Nick walked a few steps before stopping.

“Oh… Hopps, did Bogo tell you about our assignment for tomorrow?”

“No he didn’t, probably parking duty again I guess.” Judy said with a little disappointment in her voice.

And Nick notices it.

“I’ll talk to Bogo tomorrow, I’ll make sure you got a real assignment this time”

“Really ? Thank you so much sir !”

“Don’t mind it” Nick said as he walked away.

Judy can’t describe how happy she is at the moment. Everything went well, really well in fact.

“Hopps.”

Judy looked up to the second floor, where the voice came from.

It was the chief. All he did was raising his eyebrows in question.

Judy immediately understood what he meant and reply with a thumbs up.


	6. The Given Chances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, i'm back after a month or so like usual.  
> This note is going to be longer than usual because a certain things happened, so i hope you all don't mind.
> 
> First thing first, I dont know if you noticed, but i added some pictures to the previous chapter, specifically in chapter 1 and 3, Its a drawing i made (Not that im a good artist) regarding of some scenes in this fic including the cover for this fic, check it out if you're interested.
> 
> Next, this one is a bit of bad news. My Laptop broke a few days ago, so in order to repair it, i had to completely reset it. So i lost all of my data in it, including the rough draft of this fic, luckily, i already moved this chapter to a USB flaskdrive, so i'm able to post this, but the rest, not so much. Its really a shame since i got a new AU that i've been working on as well, now its all gone.
> 
> Last but not least, here's the new chapter, i hope you all will enjoy it, dont forget to leave positive comments cause those will cheer me up and i'll have a motivation to continue writing. Thanks.

“Just like that?” Nick raised his eyebrows in question.

“Yeah, pretty much.” Judy answered.

“Huh….”

“Something wrong?”

“No, I just find it hard to believe you did it without even needing me to talk some senses into him.”

“I don’t know, maybe he decided I had enough parking duty?” 

Of all the answers she could have thought of, she picked the dumbest one. There was no way the fox, who had been with Chief Bogo for almost as long as the buffalo had been, would’ve been fooled with that. But she had to come out with something to cover her story. The result was as she predicted, Nick didn’t look satisfied with that answer.

“Let’s just go before he changed his mind.” Judy said as she walked towards Nick Office.

This wouldn’t have happened, if the chief had just done what was supposed to be done. Yesterday, he called her to his office. She gave a quick report of how Detective Wilde is “better than before” and of course, she tells him that tomorrow, the fox would come to his office and ask him to change Judy’s assignment. If this had been a different case, she would’ve been happy that the chief gave that permission right at that moment. However, this is a special case. What was she supposed to say to Nick tomorrow? The chief, who apparently didn’t  care, was tired of debating with Nick, let alone his bunny companion, so that was that. End of story.

Which is why she was stuck with this situation.

“So, what have we got today?” Judy asked while hoping he wouldn’t bring up the topic again.

“Sorry to disappoint you Hopps, but we only have a small case for today” Nick Answered as he read the case file in his desk.

Relieved that things went like she wanted, she replied, “Well, it’s not parking duty, so I’ll take it.”

“Alright, a report just came this morning. It seems a florist has been robbed. The alarm didn’t trigger when it happened, and the owner, apparently a badger, discovered it this morning.”

“Sounds interesting” Judy nodded

“Shall we?”

* * *

Nick is nervous.

It’s been a long time since he officially brought a partner to investigate a case. Even though he doesn’t show it, he’s not ready to do this. Every time he brought a partner to the field, something bad happened. Especially that one occasion.

 _Deep breaths Nick, you can do this,_ Nick thought as he struggle not to remember his unsettling past.

 “Come on!”

Nick watched Judy ran past him. For a moment, he’s not looking at a grey furred Bunny, he’s looking at an energetic fox who is trying to make the world a better place.

His younger self.

He take a deep breath one more time and follows Judy to the florist.

“….. I’m officer Hopps, and this is Detective Wilde, we’re here to respond to your report ma’am” Nick approach Judy who already talking to the badger.

“About time you cops shows up. I don’t know who did this, but when I find out, they’re gonna regret it. I want you to find who did this, by any means necessary!” The badger shouts.

“We will ma’am. Don’t worry. Have you checked the camera recording?” Judy reply.

“It’s been erased! That cursed mammal is too smart to get caught.” The badger reply in anger.

“Mind if we look around?” Judy asked

“Suit yourself.” the badger said as she waits outside.

Judy looked at Nick as if she’s asking for permission to look around, which is a funny thing for Nick since she doesn’t seem to think about it when she ran past him a few moments ago, but of course it’s not a problem for Nick at all.

Nick nodded in respond.

Judy looked around the room leaving Nick standing in front of the entrance. He would’ve wanted to join her but he knew this was a big moment for Judy, so he decided not to ruin it for her. Besides, as a veteran detective, he already knows a way to solve this case, but that’s only if Judy doesn’t figure it out by herself.

“Detective! I found something.” Judy voice returns him to reality.

 _That was fast,_ Nick thought.

He comes over to Judy who’s near the backdoor, crouching as she Looked at something.

“Fur.” She said

Nick picked it up and examined it.

 _Brown, possibly a small mammal,_ Nick thought.

He recognizes the smell from the fur, but it’s too hard for the fox to ID whose fur it is just from a single strand of fur.

“I’ll give this to the CSI later. Let’s continue.” He said as he opened the back door.

It’s a small back alley and it’s a dead end. The only way in or out is either through this back door or the small gap beside the store that only a small mammal could fit through. Looking at the security box that’s placed on the wall beside the back door, Nick has already figured out how it happened.

 _Now, the only left thing to do is….._ Nick looked at Judy, who seemed to have figured it out as well.

“So, Hopps, what do you think happened?” He asked

“A small mammal, comes from that gap straight into this back alley. He then picked the lock on that security box to disable the alarm, so when he picked the lock on the door, no alarms goes off and he’s free to do anything in here!”

“Pretty much.”

“But that doesn’t tell us who robbed this place. The only thing we know about them is that they are a small mammal and we can’t looked at the recording either” Judy looked a little disappointed.

“Well, not a bad start, detective Hopps. But there’s still a way for us to figure out who it is. Come on.” Nick said as he walked back in.

 _The thief is pretty cautious and smart, but not smart enough,_ Nick thought as he walked towards the watch store across the florist.

“Hey, Detective ! Where’s are you going ?!!” The badger protest

“Solving a case Honey, just sit tight and we’ll handle it. No problem”

“Uhh… sir?” Judy asked as she looked at the obviously looking upset badger.

“What ? Her name is Honey”

“How do you know her name?”  
“I know everybody, including the owner of this watch store.” He replied as he opened the front door.

“Nicky!” an old brown bear greeted them.

Nick swears he saw Judy chuckled for a moment there.

“Hello John, it’s been a while” Nick hugged the bear.

“A while?! It’s been months since your last visit!”

“Work can be overwhelming sometimes.” Nick reply.

John finally notices the little grey figure beside Nick.

“So, who’s she?”

“She’s……. my partner”

“Your partner !!? I didn’t know you could have one”

“Yeah, things happened, this is Judy Hopps. Hopps, this is John.”

“Nice to meet you, sir” Judy greeted him

“A bunny cop eh? One of a kind, just like Nicky here”

“Yeah, I figured.” Judy replied

“So, what’s brings you here this time Nicky?”

“I need to see your recording from that Recording Camera” Nick pointed at the camera in front of the stores.

“Oh! I get it! That camera is positioned to watch the front of the store, so if any mammal goes through the gap, it gets recorded here!” Judy finally gets what Nick plan is.

“Sure Nicky, anything for my friend. Come on.” The bear walked to the counter followed by the duo.

Nick rewinds the recording backwards to discover the culprit.

An hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 5 Hours, 7 Hours.

“Stop !” Judy said, noticing something.

“Go back a little” She said

Nick does what she says and stop.

“There he is, it’s a ………weasel” Judy said as she points at the monitor.

Even though they can’t get a good look at his face, but Nick can see it’s a weasel, and it’s one he’s familiar with.

“I’ve seen enough. Lets get back to the precinct Hopps. If my guess is correct, then I know how to find him.”

“You do?” She asked 

“Yes and thank you for your help, John”

“You should visit more often Nicky”

“I’ll try” Nick said as he exited the store.

* * *

 “Alright Hopps, listen to me, let me do the talking, there’s a very high chance he will run off in the other direction, so I want you to wait there and cut him off.”

“Understood, sir.” Judy began to reach the place she’s supposed to be.

“And Hopps……” Judy stopped in her tracks to face Nick

“Be careful.”

She nodded and continued walking.

Nick approaches the weasel directly from the front. He spot Nick after a few steps in, Nick can see he’s a little surprised even though the weasel tried to hide it.

“Oh come on! Can’t you just leave me alone?” Weaselton protests

“Nice to see you, too.” Nick reply

“What do you want this time?”

“Say, I have no problem with you selling these bootleg movies even though they’re illegal, but robbing a place? Really?”

Weaselton froze in place for a few second, before turning to run, which caught Nick off guard, since the Weaselton he knew would have denied the accusation as much as he could before running away.

 _Shit, it’s too early, Hopps hasn’t got into position yet,_ Nick thought as he chased the weasel.

But he turns out to be wrong, when a blurry grey figure kicked Weaselton right in the face.

 _Was that….,_ Nick surprised that she can be that fast let alone subdue a running weasel with such precision.

Nick immediately comes over to the scene to confirm it, and yes, it is Judy.

“…..You have the right to remain silent, Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law….” Judy said as she handcuffed Weaselton.

“Get off me !! This is police brutality !!” Weaselton said as he struggled.

“Nice job Hopps”

“Wilde!! What kind of treatment is this!!??” Weaselton said asking for an explanation.

“Hey, it’s the kind of treatment you get when you run, so it’s perfectly legal for her to do this. Besides, do you really want me to take you down instead?” Nick stares coldly into the weasel eyes.

Weaselton froze upon hearing that.

“I thought so” 

* * *

“Alright Weaselton. It’s just you and me now, just like old times.” Nick gave a sinister smile as he close the door.

Judy watched Nick and the weasel from the outside of the interrogation room. Of course like all other interrogation room, this one has a one way mirror too, so she cant be seen by both Nick and Weaselton.

“I didn’t do anything” Weaselton tries to talk calmly, but Judy can see the look on  his face says otherwise.

“Uh-huh. Why did you run then?” Nick said as he slowly circling the weasel.

Weaselton stays quiet for a few moments before answered.

“I want my lawyer”

“Oh, you will, but last time I checked, they’re still far away from here and we have all the time we needed to chat.” Nick lean over to the weasel to intimidate him even more.

 “Hey!! Cops! Why did you leave me with this crazy fox again!!??? Haven’t you learn from last time???!!!” Weaselton shouted to the mirror, right at Judy.

“I told you before, it’s just you and me, and that means I can do this.” Weaselton falls to the ground as Nick pushed him out of his chair.

Judy flinch when she sees that, she remembered what Nick said before he entered the room.

_“So, Hopps, got any experience interrogating someone?”_

_“Unfortunately, no sir”_

_“I see, I suggest you just watch and learn. Let me warn you that I usually go easy with most of the mammals, but this weasel is special. He knows me too well and if I go easy on him, he’ll know something’s up. So there might be some physical contact on this one, and I want you to know that it’s all an act, I’m not gonna hurt him for real. Can you trust me?”_

Judy didn’t think it would be this extreme.

“Goddamn it Wilde” The weasel said as he tried to regain his composure.    

“Don’t make it worse for yourself. Tell me what are you did with all those flowers you stole. Since I recall you retired from this kind of business”

“I didn’t do it!!”

“We’ve found your fur on the crime scene.”

“I went there yesterday to buy a few flower, check the recording!!”

“You’re saying that your fur has been there for more than 24 hours?”

“C’mon ! Everybody knows that badger never cleans her place”

“What an interesting story. But we both know that’s not what happened.” Nick pinned the weasel into the wall.

“Stop it Wilde!!! You’re choking me!!!!”

Nick doesn’t stop and instead pins him harder than before.

Even though Judy knew it was all an act, she can’t stand what she sees in front of her. She can see that he’s choking him for real. If this goes on, she knew Nick would go past the limit, that’s why she must do something about it. She hopes for the best when she decides to go in.

“Uh, Detective Wilde?” Both heads turned to see the rabbit opening the door.

“Chief Bogo called you, he asked me to replace you for a moment.” Judy lied

Nick knew it was a lie, he was about to say something about it when he realized what she meant. In the end, he sighed and put the weasel down.

“Fine.” he said as he exited the room.

“What is this? Are you trying to pull some good cop, bad cop on me? Cause it ain’t workin” the weasel said as he sat back on his chair.

“Yeah……No, I just started here, and I just found out that my partner has……… that side on him.” Judy looked at the mirror imagining Nick looking at them.

“Heh, you should stay away from him, bunny. There’s a lot of other bad things that he has done.”

“Anyway, I’m Officer Judy Hopps, I’m here to ask you a few questions.”

“I ain’t telling you nothing bunny, if you’re here to interrogate me, you’re far less intimidating than Wilde.” The weasel said as he rubbed his face.

“First thing first, I’m sorry about that kick, and second, I’m not here to interrogate you, I’m just a substitute with friendly solution.”

“Let me guess, you’re gonna cut me a deal or something? Typical.”

“Did you know Mr. Weaselton, if what you did is true, then you will be serving a year of your life in prison?”

“I’ve done it before, didn’t kill me or anything.”

“But is it worth it to get beaten up by a fox, too?”

Weaselton flinch a little.

“He will come back soon, and what he said was half right, there is no one beside the three of us in here. I’m pretty sure he already disabled the camera that records this and even though I know what he did is wrong, I can’t tell on him since it would affect the both of us”

Before the weasel could answer, the door slams open.

“Step aside, Hopps. I have an unfinished business with a certain weasel.” Nick said as he pinned him back.   

“Alright ! alright !” The weasel finally broke his composure.

“Talk!” Nick demand.

“Only with the bunny.”

Nick looked at Judy for a second before putting the weasel down again.

“Remember, I’ll be watching.” he said as he exited the room.

“So…… are you ready to talk?” Judy asked.

“I want a deal”

“Okay, we could reduced a few months on your sentences if you cooperate, plus he won’t get back in here.”

Weaselton thought about it for a moment before answered.

“I was low on money, so I had to do one simple job for them”

“For whom?”

“The mammals I used to work with, they don’t have a name, but they’re the biggest drug operation in Zootopia, at least before this new player comes in.”

“Who’s the new player?”

“I don’t know, but they recently have a lot of distributors after that one your partner just asked about a few weeks ago.”

 _Bellwether,_ Judy thought as she recall the name Nick mention in the hospital.

“So they want to get back to the top by doubling their effort?” Judy asked

“Not just that, I heard they found some information regarding the new player and they’re planning to take them down… soon.”

Judy connects it all with all the things he heard from Nick before and made a conclusion.

“I see, thank you for your help Mr. Weaselton,” she said as she exited the room.

“Just tell your partner to stay away from me… forever !” The weasel shouted as he looks into the mirror.

When Judy comes back to Nick, their eyes met for a second before she’s freaking out.

“I’m so sorry I did that, I didn’t even think about what I was gonna do before coming in. It was just too--”

“It’s okay Hopps. You did well.” Nick reassured.

“I did?” Judy didn’t expect to get a praise, she expected to get yelled at or something.

“Yeah, it’s kinda my fault to be honest. I kind went over the limit for a second there”

 _I can see that,_ Judy thought.

“But, what about that deal? I’m just making up that deal to go with the flow”

“I’ll work something out. Take a break, Hopps. I need to report this to Bogo. If what he’s saying is true, then we might have a bigger problem than we already have.” 


End file.
